Historical Writing - Essay Example

Anchored on recorded past events that has created a tangible element of mystique, history has been a major part of defining national identity and creating feelings of patriotic nationalism. The egalitarian values in man, creates a sense of interest in the interpretation of actual events recorded through facts and figures in preserved writing…

Extract of sample"Historical Writing"

Download file to see previous pages
Yet not all interpretations of the past are deemed valid as some are simply beyond the burden of evidence and fair interpretation of the historical record is neglected. To communicate a sound interpretation of a historical phenomenon, "an eye witness account" should come within the period.
Ash's extremely readable book is a detailed recount in essay form of the political transformation and revolution of Eastern Europe. He wrote about the events that politically transformed Poland, Hungary, Eastern Germany and Czechoslovakia which teaches us lessons against communism and glorifies the struggle for freedom. With his account of the revolt in Budapest and Hungary, the events that exactly took place with the fall of the Berlin wall continue to captivate and inform readers. The happenings in Prague were given out in vivid detail with personal accounts of the leading anti-communists figures. The long and elaborate observations however failed to explain the failures of the earlier movement to destabilize communism which could have completed the fifth part which summarizes his observations and a few drawn out conclusions of the first four chapters. The second section of the book traces the changes in Eastern Europe, however failing to discuss how the revolution became logical in an era that defies prediction. His theories drew out the summary in three words-"Gorbachev, Helsinki and Toqueville", who all set the stage for a revolution. His unique work, managed to create a storytelling atmosphere that combined facts and analysis into a highly readable and enjoyable piece of work that critically dubbed the Magic lantern as "sensational, scholarly and literary.

Reviews have treated his work as a "history of the present" that invites dissenting opinion on the issues concerning a certain time frame that allows history to complete its course. Eventually issues would sooner or later add up to form part of the whole saga that critics were quick to point as Ash's error in writing a somewhat historical piece just after several months of the actual event. We begin to agree with the critics on the sound idea that to recount past history of a certain period, a particular time frame is designated to create a full picture of the results after the tangible and unforgotten era. However, we may be led to believe that Ash was never aiming for the perfect account of the unpredictable. History and journalism has never set a standard within which to form as a guide in the chronology and conclusion in writing historical events and. Ash's writing was more of an art akin to creative journalistic writing and may not be taught to follow the elements of a structured history. His exact account leaves us facts and interesting fragments of his travels along the chronology of an important chapter of recent events.

We are not approaching the modern age with our first few steps--we are in a journey towards scientific advancement and treating literary and journalistic pieces with a degree of control would relegate the writer's efforts into nothing but a sham. Ash was merely raising his ideas and account of the
...Download file to see next pagesRead More

...?Review Narratives of Islamic Origins. The beginnings of Islamic historicalwriting. By Fred McGraw Donner. Princeton: Darwin Press, 1998. 358pp. Donner’s work has contributed to the burgeoning scholarship on the source material for early Islam, and in a more constructive way than the corpus of those deeply sceptical of the Islamic sources. The author, who has previously published a canonical work on the early Muslim conquests outside of the Arabian Peninsula, concerns himself in this work with the issue of reconstructing Islamic history on the basis of its early sources. It is constructive to briefly summarise the current state of the debate on the subject, so that this latest addition can be seen in its...

...?How I met Fremont, Carson, and the Donners I was tired of the long winters and wanted to get back home to Illinois. But I had struck out as a trapper and fur trader and hadn't done too bad for myself. I had made a good trade of beaver traps and had set my own route down from the Oregon trail into the California Trail. There I was going up and down the Humboldt River in the Nevada Territory when one of my Paiute Indian friends told me of a bunch of American Army men had cross the Great Salt Lake and crossing the Utah Territory headed my way. About a week later I met the group. They were under the command of a young soldier John Fremont. He and his guide Kit Carson would later become famous in the history books. Well I showed them... I met...

...?A Nation’s Transformation The Industrialization of American West and its Impact to the East Introduction The history of the United s depicts a nation overwhelmed by rapid transformations. From once a colonized territory of some foreign powers into the ‘home of the free and the brave’, this American nation has witnessed many significant changes in its socio-politico and economic make-up. These all-encompassing events resulted from the industrialization and urbanization of the country, which began during the late nineteenth century in the so-called ‘West’ or the ‘Frontier.’ Thesis The land, which was proclaimed by many to be where savage beasts and cruel inhabitants dwell, was at first not the typical and ideal space where any form...

...?Historical Fiction When I reflect on my future I oftentimes think about the necessity of attending college, getting a job, and joining the modern workforce. Although I appreciate the opportunity I have living in as prosperous a nation as the United States, and having the opportunity for gainful education and gainful employment, I have felt that there is something drab and depressing about following this traditional path. For a time I had decided after high school I wanted to pursue something different rather than simply entering college. I had no idea what I would do – get a job, study in a Buddhist monastery, join a commune – whatever it was it would ensure that my life was unique. One night I expressed this desire to...

...?Using examples show how we can use writing (fiction and/or non-fiction) by Charles Dickens and/or his contemporaries, to enhance our understanding of selected aspects of the historical geography of Victorian London. Charles Dickens has been considered as the greatest novelist from the Victorian era producing some of the most recognisable characters and descriptions in English literature (The New York Times, 2007). Another measure of Dickens’s popularity is that his work has not gone out of print even today (Swift, 2007). One potent reason for Dickens’s success is his use of vivid realism in order to paint realistic pictures of Victorian England. Most of Dickens’s work is set in or around London, though...

...their work to those holding the reward strings. Resulting from historical research, literary studies are currently confined to the academy. For one to get a job, those write about literature always pretend to be pursuing academic specialties. The human sciences describe the horizon in which historical research is done, and simultaneously maintaining a flexible boundary (Zeynep, 2009). Literary scholars accommodate themselves to historical processes of evaluation originally instituted for the natural science. Literature assists to ensure that work is judged as it really is, without entangling in its social or historical context. Academic literature...

...I. Select and Explain some dominant THEMES in the mainstream of historicalwriting and research Historians usually categorize themselves with respectto the time period they study. However, apart from time and place, themes hold a prime importance for historians. Political history is one such theme, which no longer holds a place of dominance a present. Political history refers to study of the “formal organization of power in society” (ch 3). Political history might include a wide variety of elements. Some historians might be inclined to the period of Renaissance and French Revolution and the study of the European powers’ growth during these periods. ‘Diplomatic history’ has emerged as a branch of this...

... Problems facing homeless people in the United Kingdom and how to improve their situation Introduction Research involves the critical analysis of pre-existing conclusions and theories with regard to newly discovered facts with the intent of continuous search for new knowledge. Moreover, research is the complete process of arriving at effective alternatives and solutions to existent problems through the systematic collection, analysis and subsequent interpretation of data. Relevantly, this research aims at obtaining data based on existing evidence on the problems facing homeless people in the United Kingdom. Moreover, it seeks to identify and possibly facilitate the implementation of discovered solutions aiming at improving... Problems facing...

...and at the same time (Packer 25). Consequently, this feature of God shows that we cannot hide from Him because He sees us every time and in every place as He exists everywhere. For instance, the biblical Noah tried to hide from God but was never successful. Further, because of this attribute, human beings should never fear anything since God is everywhere and keeps watch over His creation.
Works Cited
Ashbaucher, Reid A. Made in the Image of God: Understanding the Nature of God and Mankind in a Changing World. Collierville, TN: Innovo Pub, 2011. Print.
Packer, J I. Concise Theology: A Guide to Historic Christian Beliefs. Carol Stream, Ill: Tyndale House, 2001. Print.
The New Jerusalem Bible. Ed. Susan Jones. New York:...

...of Babylonians and Assyrians, Sumerian art was mainly based on clay writings. Their original art, cuneiform writing, involved writing on clay, metal, or wood using a stylus shaped like a wedge. Sumerians used cuneiform to write or draw their most important cultural and religious figures mainly the gods and goddesses. The cuneiforms mainly represented objects and was not used for scholarly purposes in the original form. Diagram 1 below shows an example of a female head carved in limestone and wood.
Diagram 1: Sumerian Original Art: Female Head
Source: (Janson and Anthony n.p.)
However, when the Babylonians arrived, they introduced their culture to the Sumerians. The...

1 Pages(250 words)Essay

sponsored ads

Save Your Time for More Important Things

Let us write or edit the essay on your topic
"Historical Writing"
with a personal 20% discount.